Average Rental Prices Increased During Q1

At the close of the first quarter, rental prices had increased by 3.72%, when compared to the close of the previous quarter. This brought the average price to 780 euros. When compared to February, the increase is 1.3%. Compared to the same period in 2017, the increase is 15.56%, according to the latest data from pisos.com.

According to Ferran Font, director of studis at pisos.com, “there is some concern about how this market is currently behaving and its possible consequences in the near future.” Font also admits that “the discussion about whether or not a bubble is being generated is alive at the moment, since there have been strong and rapid increases in the monthly costs, while the profitability generated by rental housing has been reduced.”

Font went on to explain that this situation is reinforcing the “clash of interests” between landlords and tenants: “Many tenants have been displaced from their preferred area by the tourist rental boom. On the other hand, both private investors and large funds continue to focus on an increasingly beneficial business,”

Autonomous Communities

Six autonomous communities have average monthly rental prices of more than €1,000, the highest being in Madrid (€1,325). Next was the Basque Country (€1,096), and the Balearic Islands (€1,030).

The cheapest rental property can be found in Extremadura (€439 p/month), Castilla-La Mancha (€464 p/month) and Galicia (€545 p/month).

During the first quarter, the most significant increase was seen in the Canary Islands where prices went up by 11.19%. The most significant fall was seen in Castilla-La Mancha where prices dropped by 4.67%.

Year-on-year, the biggest increases were in Catalonia (22.19%), Madrid (21.56%) and Navarra (21.24%). Only Castilla-La Mancha saw a negative annual variation with a fall of -0.39%.

Provinces

The most expensive province for rental property was Madrid with an average monthly rental cost of 1,325 euros. They were followed by Guipúzcoa (€1,283 p/month) and Barcelona (€1,076 p/month).

The cheapest province for rental prices was Cuenca with an average price of €383 p/month. Other “cheap” provinces include Teruel (€392 p/month) and Ciudad Real (€392 p/month).

The province with the most significant first quarter increase was Valencia (13.87%), while the one with the largest fall was Cuenca (-9.79%). The largest interannual increase was in Castellón (23.96%). Meanwhile, the largest annual fall was that of Soria (-9.09%).

Provincial Capitals

As for provincial capitals, Barcelona was the most expensive for tenants, with an average rent of 1,701 euros per month. They were followed by Madrid (€1,652 p/month) and Donostia-San Sebastián (€1,352 p/month). Teruel was the cheapest, with an average 387 euros per month. Other economic capitals were Cuenca (€404 p/month) and Ciudad Real (€434 p/month). Ávila showed the biggest quarterly increase (+12.47%), while the the falls were led by Cuenca (-8.21%).

Interannually, Palma de Mallorca led the increases with a rise of 25.29%. Once again, Cuenca was at the foot of the table with an annual fall of -6.96%.

Average Price by No. Bedrooms

The average prices for renting a property in Spain, according to number of bedrooms, are: